I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Rage Against The Machine

I Don't Like Them As Much As I'm Supposed To

It’s quite hard doing an ‘I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To‘ every week. Not because I can’t think of bands, more, people will think I don’t like anyone. Not true. Anyway, who is this week’s headscratcher? Well, with all the fuss over the reunion for the festivals, I have to say I just don’t get Rage Against The Machine. Of course, I understand why they were popular - they were political, angry, loud - but for me, something was always missing.

Years and years ago, I walked into a club and heard the refrain of “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!” To my teenage ears, I couldn’t think of a better sentiment. To a pal who seemed to know all the words, I said “Who is that?!” It was then I learned about RATM. So off I went in search of an LP. I went to my local record shop who promptly played me ‘Killing in the Name’ and it’s fair to say I was underwhelmed. As I’d only heard the end, I’d expected a full throttle onslaught at three thousand miles an hour. What I got was slow ground-down funk, which drives some people wild… but left me wondering where this “rage” was. I mean, it sounded like somethin’ from The Beastie Boys’ Check Your Head LP… but at least The Beastie’s had real fonnk.
Anyway, I didn’t dig ‘em. Fair enough. Each to their own. However, as the years passed, more and more of my mates started declaring their fondness for these agit-rockers. However, the more I heard, the more I was let down. I could get past the preachiness (hell, some of it was even good and - dare I say it? - righteous) but what I couldn’t get past was the sheer cornball American-ness of it.
It didn’t rock like a balls-out band and it didn’t have the wonky funk ‘n’ throb of, say, Primus (not that I like Primus mind). Worst of all, it didn’t have the sheer guts’n'fury of a band like The Dead Kennedys. Basically, I wanted to get into ‘em but simply couldn’t.